Backs against wall, Oracle now just 3 wins away

Oracle Team USA makes a victory lap for spectators after defeating Emirates Team New Zealand in Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Oracle Team USA makes a victory lap for spectators after defeating Emirates Team New Zealand in Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Special to The Chronicle

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Oracle Team USA leads Emirates Team New Zealand while heading to the windward gate during Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Oracle Team USA leads Emirates Team New Zealand while heading to the windward gate during Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Special to The Chronicle

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Spectators cheer after Oracle Team USA defeated Emirates Team New Zealand in Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Spectators cheer after Oracle Team USA defeated Emirates Team New Zealand in Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Special to The Chronicle

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Emirates Team New Zealand, right, and Luna Rossa, left, cross each other during a race for the Louis Vuitton Cup in San Francisco, Calif. on July 23, 2013.

Emirates Team New Zealand, right, and Luna Rossa, left, cross each other during a race for the Louis Vuitton Cup in San Francisco, Calif. on July 23, 2013.

Photo: The Chronicle

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Fans cheer for Oracle Team USA after defeating Emirates Team New Zealand in the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event in San Francisco on Monday, Sept. 23, 2013. New Zealand still leads the USA 8-6.

Fans cheer for Oracle Team USA after defeating Emirates Team New Zealand in the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event in San Francisco on Monday, Sept. 23, 2013. New Zealand still leads the USA 8-6.

Photo: Mathew Sumner / Special to the Chronicle

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Sunshine illuminates the Golden Gate Bridge while racing is postponed due to light winds before Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Sunshine illuminates the Golden Gate Bridge while racing is postponed due to light winds before Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Special to The Chronicle

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Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand practice before Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Oracle Team USA and Emirates Team New Zealand practice before Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Special to The Chronicle

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Oracle Team USA CEO Russell Coutts and owner Larry Ellison talk after their team won Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Oracle Team USA CEO Russell Coutts and owner Larry Ellison talk after their team won Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Special to The Chronicle

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Oracle Team USA (left) leads Emirates Team New Zealand at the leeward mark during Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Oracle Team USA (left) leads Emirates Team New Zealand at the leeward mark during Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Special to The Chronicle

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Emirates Team New Zealand flies its code zero sail during Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Emirates Team New Zealand flies its code zero sail during Race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on Monday, September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Photo: Special to The Chronicle

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Members of Oracle Team USA skippered by James Spithill (L) celebrate after defeating Emirates Team New Zealand skippered Dean Barker during race 16 of the America's Cup finals on September 23, 2013 in San Francisco, California. Oracle Team USA won race 16. Team Emirates New Zealand leads the series 8 to 6. less

Members of Oracle Team USA skippered by James Spithill (L) celebrate after defeating Emirates Team New Zealand skippered Dean Barker during race 16 of the America's Cup finals on September 23, 2013 in San ... more

Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

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Emirates Team New Zealand skippered by Dean Barker heads back to their base after losing to Oracle Team USA skippered by James Spithill in race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on September 23, 2013 in San Francisco. less

Emirates Team New Zealand skippered by Dean Barker heads back to their base after losing to Oracle Team USA skippered by James Spithill in race 16 of the America's Cup Finals on September 23, 2013 in San ... more

Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

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Oracle Team USA sails past Alcatraz Island as it races Emirates Team New Zealand during the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event on Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, in San Francisco.

Oracle Team USA sails past Alcatraz Island as it races Emirates Team New Zealand during the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event on Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, in San Francisco.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

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Oracle Team USA skippered by James Spithill races against Emirates Team New Zealand skippered by Dean Barker during race 16.

Oracle Team USA skippered by James Spithill races against Emirates Team New Zealand skippered by Dean Barker during race 16.

Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

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Fans cheer as Oracle Team USA crosses the finish line ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand in the 16th race of the America's Cup.

Fans cheer as Oracle Team USA crosses the finish line ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand in the 16th race of the America's Cup.

Photo: Mathew Sumner / Special to the Chronicle

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Oracle Team USA sails in front of a tanker as it races against Emirates Team New Zealand during the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, in San Francisco.

Oracle Team USA sails in front of a tanker as it races against Emirates Team New Zealand during the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, in San Francisco.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

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Oracle Team USA reaches the finish line to defeate Emirates Team New Zealand in the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event, Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, in San Francisco.

Oracle Team USA reaches the finish line to defeate Emirates Team New Zealand in the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event, Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, in San Francisco.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

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Oracle Team USA member Shannon Falcone hands his son Cade Falcone to his wife Leilani Stuck before the America's Cup sailing event in San Francisco on Monday, Sept. 23, 2013.

Oracle Team USA member Shannon Falcone hands his son Cade Falcone to his wife Leilani Stuck before the America's Cup sailing event in San Francisco on Monday, Sept. 23, 2013.

Photo: Mathew Sumner / Special to the Chronicle

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Emirates Team New Zealand, left, chases Oracle Team USA during the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event, Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, in San Francisco.

Emirates Team New Zealand, left, chases Oracle Team USA during the 16th race of the America's Cup sailing event, Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, in San Francisco.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

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Oracle Team USA passes through the finish line to win race 15 of the 34th America's Cup on September 22, 2013 in San Francisco.

Oracle Team USA passes through the finish line to win race 15 of the 34th America's Cup on September 22, 2013 in San Francisco.

Photo: JOSH EDELSON / AFP/Getty Images

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Backs against wall, Oracle now just 3 wins away

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To put this in baseball terms, the Kiwis’ magic number is one. But the longer they sit on that number, the worse their chances are.

Their biggest problem seems to be the start, where Jimmy Spithill appears to have Dean Barker’s number. By an unofficial count, the Oracle Team USA skipper has won the start 10 times in 16 races.

The 10th came Monday, even though Emirates Team New Zealand had the port-side, early-entry advantage into the starting box. It didn’t matter. Spithill and his crew rolled over the Kiwis and beat them to the first mark.

Oracle steamrolled to its fifth straight win and its seventh in the past nine races in the America’s Cup finals, cutting New Zealand’s lead to 8-6. The Kiwis remain on match point, but if Oracle wins the two scheduled races Tuesday and one more Wednesday, it will have pulled off a colossal comeback.

The finals, already the longest in history, will stretch into their 18th day as a result of Oracle’s 33-second win in Race 16. Race 17 was postponed because officials had to wait 30 minutes for the anemic wind to pick up enough to run the earlier race. That didn’t leave enough time to fit the later race into the TV window.

On Tuesday, the winds are expected to be back to normal strength.

If Spithill, 34, didn’t have such a bright future as a skipper, he could always peddle a self-help book. Motivational authors from Norman Vincent Peale to Tony Robbins have nothing on Spithill.

On Sept. 11, when his team was down 4 wins to minus-1 (because of Oracle’s two-race penalty for cheating), Spithill said stridently, “This doesn’t worry us. The team’s not flustered.”

At that point, Oracle had yet to bring pinch-tactician Ben Ainslie on board to work his strategy with fellow Olympic gold medalist Tom Slingsby. Nor had the shore crew made the boat changes that dramatically improved its speed, particularly upwind.

What made Spithill so sure when everybody else was writing off Oracle?

“It was because of the adversity we faced,” he said. “This team has been put through the wringer.”

He went down the list: It wrecked its first boat in October and watched the wreckage float out the Golden Gate. It was hit with a king-sized penalty as a result of the illegal-weights scandal and lost its standout wing trimmer when Dirk de Ridder was booted out of the regatta just four days before Oracle’s first race. It was saddled with a two-race penalty.

“Every time we faced adversity, a lesser team would have dropped the ball or split apart,” Spithill said. “But this team pulled itself together.”

Such drawbacks “actually made us stronger.” Then when you experience more adversity, he said, “you can draw on those past experiences and you’ve got the confidence to get through it.”

Now it’s Barker and his gang who are going through tough times.

“We still wouldn’t trade positions,” he said. “We’d rather be on match point than having to win three more. It’s definitely a battle. There’s no question the Oracle guys have stepped it up a lot. We need to be able to respond.”

His team is “very, very positive,” he said. “We know we can win. That belief is going to be there until the very end.”

Both teams broke out the Code Zero headsails for the light winds. But Oracle hoisted it only for the downwind run. The Kiwis had theirs on at the start, when the extra drag might have been a factor as Oracle rolled over them with a strong burst of speed.

Spithill credited team coach Philippe Presti, along with Ainslie and Slingsby, with helping him plan the starts. Presti has been an unsung factor in this America’s Cup campaign, his third. The Frenchman served as Spithill’s coach on Italy’s Luna Rossa Challenge for the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007, and the two were reunited at BMW Oracle Racing before the 33rd Cup in 2010.

“He’s a very low-key guy but devotes a lot of time as a studier of the game,” Spithill said. “There’s no question Philippe has set some pretty nice game plans for us.”

34th America’s Cup

What: Finals on San Francisco Bay

Next races: 1:15 and (if necessary) 2:15 p.m. Tuesday

Score: Emirates Team New Zealand 8, Oracle Team USA 6

Format: New Zealand needs to win one more race to take the best-of-17 series. Before the finals, the U.S. was penalized two races by an international jury, and needs to win three more races to retain the Cup.

Boats: 72-foot catamarans with 131-foot wing sails and crews of 11.

TV: NBC Sports Network, Cozi-TV. Replays will be shown on the America’s Cup YouTube channel immediately after the live telecast.